


Unpacking

by zarabithia



Category: Captain America, Marvel, Marvel 616
Genre: Community: merry_marvels, Gift Fic, M/M, Reunion Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-07
Updated: 2010-04-07
Packaged: 2017-10-14 18:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following Siege, Steve and Bucky move into a new place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unpacking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Isilweth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isilweth/gifts).



Bucky would tell Steve, in the days of decades past, that Steve needed him around to remind Steve of the smaller picture.

"The tiny things," Bucky would explain. "The ones that this war would let you forget, because you're too busy seeing the big picture that Captain America _has_ to see."

Steve hadn't argued the point; he'd known long before that fateful incident with the plane how much he needed Bucky, even without all of Bucky's subtle running commentary designed to remind Steve of that fact.

After all that had transpired since that day on the court steps - being forced to relive all the worst moments in his life, taking back the name of the Avengers from Norman Osborn, and learning of all hurt that he hadn't been around to prevent in his friends, for starters - moving day was not a major cause of concern for Steve. In fact, there was something calming about the idea of moving into a new place, fresh and without all the memories of every bad event of the past few years lingering in every corner of every room.

The new apartment and the new roommate who was moving in with him were soothing contrasts to the charred remains of the last apartment, and a reminder that they were in an age of fresh starts.

Bucky, of course, did not particularly feel the same way. Once again, his vision of the important matters narrowed in on the smaller scale. "I have mentioned that I am really sorry about what happened to your old place, right?" Bucky asked, following a particularly guilty sigh, as they carried in the last of the items they'd managed to salvage.

"You have mentioned it, yes," Steve agreed dryly. "A few times, as a matter of fact."

"Well." Bucky set his box at a precarious angle on the edge of the coffee table that made Steve want to reach out and pull the box away from the edge. "I think it needs repeating."

"One more time?"

"Or a dozen?" Bucky let out a breath, blowing the hair out of his eyes.

"You still need a hair cut," Steve observed. "I'm much more upset about that fact than I am the apartment."

"Those are some interesting priorities, Steve."

Steve swallowed a laugh that hurt a little more than it should in his chest. He didn't bother to correct Bucky, or to share with him of all the years that Bucky - and the lack of Bucky in his life - had been a primary concern on Steve's list of responsibilities.

Or, in the case of nightmares, _the_ primary concern.

Off Bucky's look of concern, Steve shrugged and answered as lightly as he could, "We won the big fight. You're okay. Sam's okay. Sharon's okay. The Avengers are recovering. For the first time in a long time, I can say that things might actually be better tomorrow than they were yesterday. Those things are far more important to me than any material possessions could be, Buck."

"But it's _not_ just material possessions," Bucky argued.

"Then sit down and tell me what really is bugging you, while I unpack," Steve suggested.

Bucky didn't sit down. He jammed his fists in the pockets of his pants instead. "The minute I walked into that place, it was so full of _you._ All your pictures and records ... all your memories of the people you care about. And I let it get destroyed."

"We managed to save a few things," Steve answered. "And tomorrow Sharon is bringing over some pictures she thinks I should have of the times we spent together." It was probably the best parting gift Steve could ever ask for.

"The break-up that bad that she wants to get rid of them?" Bucky asked.

"No. She's having copies made. Apparently in the twenty-first century, they have some impressive technology that allows you to do that," Steve teased gently.

Bucky smirked, showing the confidence and ease that Steve would never get tired of seeing again. "I've heard rumors about these technological advances," Bucky teased back.

"And apparently, quite a few people were in the market for Captain America memorabilia when they thought I was dead. Tony doesn't remember -" much of anything that Steve expected him too, and that hurt more than Steve expected it to, considering all that had led up to that moment on the courthouse steps. "But Pepper tells me there are some items I should probably re-take possession of. I've been down to less material possessions than this, Buck. Don't worry about it."

The confidence of Bucky's smirk slipped out of place, and Steve felt an rush of hatred towards the men responsible for Winter Soldier. "I still can't help but feel like I've let you down," Bucky answered.

Steve rubbed his fingers against the slightly charred remains of a record that might not even play any longer and realized that, for once, he'd been too caught up in the smaller picture and had failed to see the larger one.

It wasn't a bunch of silly mementos that Bucky was really worried about at all.

"I tried to save you," Steve told him. "When I was traveling in time, you were the one loss I tried to fix. I tried to stop you from falling into the Russians' hands. I failed. Do you hold that against me?"

Steve knew the answer, as surely as he knew that he would never forgive himself.

"No! How could I? What happened was _never_ your fault," Bucky said adamantly, and his eyes flashed with a brightness that reminded Steve of muddy camps and rain beating angrily against army tents. "You came back to me, Steve. That's all that matters."

"And you were here for me when I came back. _That's_ all that matters," Steve replied. "The Red Skull resharpened every memory I have, Bucky, the good ones and the bad ones. I'm not in any danger of losing them and I'd really rather focus on rebuilding new ones."

Bucky did sit down on the couch then, and he looked up at Steve invitingly. "There's a lot of room in this apartment to make new memories in," he noted. "The couch seems to be a pretty comfortable place to start, though."

Far from disagreeing, Steve abandoned his efforts to unpack in favor of joining Bucky on the couch.  



End file.
